Tagged: climate change

Aggressive marketing has driven the rise of the double-cab ute on New Zealand streets — time to hit the brakes? - News

Guest Author • Jul 28, 2021 •

• climate change,
• New Zealand stories,
• Pollution,
• Transport,
• utes

Kirsty Wild, University of Auckland and Alistair Woodward, University of Auckland   “Explore your inner beast.” That was the slogan used last year to sell the Ford Ranger. At 2.4 tonnes, that’s a lot of “light” truck, but the stakes are rising. This year, the 3.5 tonne Ram 1500 “eats utes for breakfast”. Super-sized light trucks have landed in Aotearoa … Read More

Why calling ordinary Kiwi cyclists ‘elitist’ just doesn’t add up - News

Guest Author • Jul 28, 2021 •

• climate change,
• cycling,
• Health,
• New Zealand stories,
• Transport

Timothy Welch, University of Auckland   Something strange has happened to the perception of cyclists and cycling in the more than 200 years they’ve been around. Once a novelty, bike riding has moved from being a critical transport mode to a children’s pastime to now being popularly perceived as an elitist activity. This was readily apparent after the recent … Read More

Extreme heat warning: what the first-ever UK Met Office alert means - The Changing Climate

Guest Author • Jul 22, 2021 •

• climate change,
• heat,
• heatwave,
• Met Office,
• weather forecasting

Chloe Brimicombe, University of Reading Summer 2021 will mark a turning point in how heat is seen by the public and communicated by experts. For the first time in its 167-year history, the UK’s Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Wales and parts of southern, central and western England, where temperatures are … Read More

Why climate change is forcing conservationists to be more ambitious: by moving threatened species to pastures new - The Changing Climate

Guest Author • Jul 19, 2021 •

• climate change,
• conservation,
• habitat,
• translocation

Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple, Liverpool John Moores University As climate change brings record droughts and floods, extended fire seasons continue to make headlines, and the role of humans in this terrible situation is now undisputed, institutional change has been slow and unsteady. In particular, conservationists have been wary of pointing to climate change as the biggest threat … Read More

Climate explained: is New Zealand losing or gaining native forests? - Climate: Explained

Guest Author • Jul 15, 2021 •

• climate change,
• native forest,
• New Zealand stories,
• trees

Climate explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz In recent decades, has New Zealand lost forest (both native and exotic) or gained it, courtesy of … Read More

A significant number of New Zealanders overestimate sea-level rise — and that could stop them from taking action - Hot off the press

Guest Author • Jul 13, 2021 •

• attitudes,
• climate change,
• New Zealand stories,
• sea level rise

Rebecca Priestley, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Richard Levy, GNS Science; Taciano L. Milfont, University of Waikato; Timothy Naish, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Zoë Heine, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington   Following a recent storm surge in Wellington, some media coverage expressed surprise that 30cm of sea-level rise … Read More

With seas rising and storms surging, who will pay for New Zealand’s most vulnerable coastal properties? - News

Guest Author • Jul 13, 2021 •

• climate change,
• coastal flooding,
• New Zealand stories,
• storms

Tom Logan, University of Canterbury   The major storm surge and coastal flooding in Wellington earlier this month was another reminder that the sea is now lapping close to a lot of New Zealand’s front doors. The ominous question is: who will pay when it crosses the threshold? But that’s not a question worrying insurance companies. They’ve made their … Read More

Lawyers challenge New Zealand’s proposed emissions budgets as inconsistent with the 1.5℃ goal - Planetary Ecology

Robert McLachlan • Jul 07, 2021 •

• carbon,
• climate change,
• emissions,
• New Zealand stories

New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission is facing its first legal hurdle, as a group of 300 climate-concerned lawyers seek judicial review of the processes it used to calculate carbon budgets in its recently released advice to government. Carbon budgets are a cornerstone of New Zealand’s climate change response under the Zero Carbon Act and lie at … Read More

Suburban living the worst for carbon emissions – new research - Hot off the press

Guest Author • Jul 06, 2021 •

• carbon emissions,
• cities,
• climate change,
• suburbs,
• urban planning

Sabrina Zwick, United Nations University   Work, education, entertainment, or simply better connectivity all draw people to cities. By the end of this century around 85% of the world population are predicted to live in cities. There are speculations that the COVID-19 pandemic will slow down this urbanisation trend, but I think it’s unlikely to stop it. Cities remain … Read More

Climate explained: how the IPCC reaches scientific consensus on climate change - Climate: Explained

Guest Author • Jul 05, 2021 •

• climate change,
• IPCC

Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz When we say there’s a scientific consensus that human-produced greenhouse gases are causing climate change, what does that … Read More